A new day in Chapel.

Gotta hand it to the eighth grade: They put together our very first St. Mary’s Chapel run by just one class Friday. (Those are a few eighth graders in the Middle School hallways on the first day of school, left.) Hear about how it came together from the Rev. Katherine Bush, St. Mary’s Chaplain:

As the new chaplain last year, I spent some time meeting with the girls to find out what they thought about Chapel: What they loved, what we could do more of, what we might do less of. In one of these group discussions, an Upper School girl asked if she and her classmates could be "in charge" of Chapel, as a class.  What an excellent idea!   

So, with about two weeks notice and amid all the other beginning-of-school-distractions, the eighth grade put together a beautiful Chapel. They chose and led the hymns, complete with glittery signs to remind us of the words. One girl wrote an opening poem and the closing prayer, four students played their violins, three girls sang, one read her Wordsmith-winning essay, and another offered a brief glimpse of her Irish dancing.  

As we heard in the poem and in the closing prayer, these girls are aware that the gifts they shared with us come from God, and they delighted in offering them to our community.

 For the rest of the school year, one grade each month is actually "in charge" of Chapel.  Working with their teachers and me, they choose the music and the program.  The plan is to let grades five through eleven each have one opportunity a year to share their voices or to invite a guest. (The theory on leaving out the seniors is that we already hear a lot from them -- Senior speeches, Light a Candle, the Christmas Pageant, Black Friday, inductions, and just about every announcement. As I write this, however, the seniors are circulating a petition so that they can have an opportunity as well.  We'll see.  Stay tuned.)

Remember: Chapel is always open to parents and alumnae, and we have Chapel every day in the nave at the Church of the Holy Communion for the Middle and Upper Schools. (Chapel starts promptly at 9:40am, and is usually over by 10 or a little after.) Not many independent schools have daily Chapel any more, but it is a central tradition of our school, and way St. Mary's honors our commitment to faith development and character formation. Maybe we’ll see you there soon.